Page 14 of Never Not Friends

“Do you know who my mother is? Because all these ideas are things she’d never go for.”

“Fine, then what would she say yes to?”

I glance down at my list. “Juliet wants to make us one giant cake instead of two separate ones. She said it’d have both our names on it. One half would be chocolate for me, and the other half would be vanilla for you.”

“If she can do that, that’s actually kind of cool.” He scoots a little closer so he can see the notebook. Our shoulders brush like they have a hundred times before, but I still feel the sensation in my chest. “Pool party?” He looks up at me with a question in his eyes.

“I know neither of us has a pool, but Blair does, and her mom would totally let us have the party there if we want.”

His hand absentmindedly catches mine where it rests between us. “I bet there will be fifty pool parties celebrating the end of school. I say we do something different. Sixteen feels important.”

“You said that already.”

“Because it does. It just feels like one of those birthdays you’ll always remember.”

“One of those birthdays we’ll always remember.” My fingers play with his. “Like a night we’ll tell our kids about twenty years from now.”

“If we’re telling our kids about it, then we definitely need sumo suits or go-karts.”

“Tell you what,” I laugh, “let me handle our sixteenth party, and you can handle the next one.”

“What? Like, every other year?” His grin slowly spreads.

“If you want,” I say. “I can plan our even birthdays, and you can plan the odd ones. We’ll trade back and forth.”

“Deal. But know that at twenty-seven, we’re going skydiving.”

“Why twenty-seven?”

He shrugs. “It just seems like the perfect adult age to jump out of an airplane.”

“Fine, as long as you know that at thirty-eight, we’re going to Ireland.”

His chin lifts. “And at forty-nine, we’re getting matching tattoos.”

I can’t stop smiling now. “At fifty-six, you have to take ballroom dance classes with me.”

“Only if we can bungee jump at sixty-three.”

My head falls back with laughter. “We’ll see.”

“We’ll see?” He inches closer, and I respond by scooting into him. “That’s not the deal. Back and forth for the rest of our lives.”

“Fine.” I smile. “I’ll go with your plan for the next fifty years.”

His fingers trace from my hand up my arm, tickling my skin. “Pretty exciting stuff. I like what my life looks like with you.”

“Me too,” I whisper between us.

My heart races as warmth explodes down my arm, into my ribs.

Vinny leans up, kissing me softly.

The kiss lasts for a few seconds, until he pulls away.

Our eyes lock, and without a word, we both slowly fall backward onto the bed.

The notebook slides onto the floor as Vinny rolls over me, brushing his lips against mine.